Parkdale - High Park

As Canada's whistle blower on copyright politics, Michael Geist further exposed Bulte and how her editorials are practically authored by CRIA, CAAST and other old-economy intermediary special interest groups and their bogus "statistics".

I could continue but I trust the point is clear. Citing a series of CRIA studies and editorials doesn't prove Bulte's case. It actually makes the point that critics have been raising for the past three weeks.

So when the Big Entertainment lobby sponsored a $250-a-plate fundraiser for Toronto’s industry-friendly Parkdale-High Park MP Sarmite "Sam" Bulte on the eve of a federal election – at uber-hip indie music hotspot The Drake Hotel, no less – the copyright progressives at Online Rights Canada had to respond in kind. And with a flawless sense of irony, they chose another room in the same building on the same night.

On Monday, the eyes of the Internet will be on the Toronto riding of Parkdale/High Park. The rest of the election is a sideshow. Will the Liberals be reduced to two seats? Will the door of cosmic justice hit Belinda Stronach on the way out? Who cares? Everyone's watching Sarmite Bulte.

We each took turns introducing ourselves and found that we were all sorts of different people, from techies like myself, Ian Goldberg and Kat Hanna, to musicians such as Neil Leyton and Mike Farrell of The Pariahs (a guy who predates me at Crazy Go Nuts University), photographers, writers, students and people who just classified themselves as "ordinary citizens

You said the main issues for you were making the license more easily compatible with other free licenses, as well as DRM (Digital Rights Management) and the whole patent issue. Tell me your thoughts on these issues.

DRM is an attempt to crush the freedom that copyright law gives the public. It is completely evil. DRM does not deserve to be tolerated and should be wiped out. It is tolerated because governments are not very democratic and the rich have too much power over governments and the media.

Would love to see Mr. Stallman and Ms. Bulte, Hollywood's outgoing Canadian MP, in a debate ;-) Two passionate people: his passion for citizen freedom, and her passion for her well funded friends.

Sir Robin Jacob, a judge at the U.K.'s Court of Appeal who specializes in intellectual-property law, spoke about the potential problems surrounding software patents at a seminar for the Society for Computers and Law on Thursday evening in London.
...
"IP rights themselves may have reached a bit of a swing of opinion. One is detecting public disquiet in a number of areas of intellectual property, asking: Are we going too far? There's a serious worry about patent offices and how you stop them from granting pretty ropey patents," he said.

Copyright policy must be both fair and seen to be fair. It is time for a new approach that starts with a commitment from all MPs who accept funds from the copyright lobby not to serve in ministerial positions or on legislative committees that involve copyright policy.

Over the past few days, hundreds of Canadians have signed a petition calling on all politicians to make just such a commitment. The election campaign's final days provide the ideal opportunity for Canada's leaders to begin to clean up Canadian copyright.

"I will not be silenced by zealots like Michael Geist and political opportunists like Peggy Nash who are making something out of nothing," she said, adding that she believes Mr. Geist's comments are nearing the point of being defamatory.

"I am not going to sue him before the election but dammit, watch me after the election."

I look forward to Bulte trying to take people on in the courts -- the more public this gets, the more her outright lies claiming to support "artists and creators" will be exposed.

Canadians can use an automated tool to write to their Members of Parliament to warn them off of supporting Bill C-60, the Liberal Party's proposal to bring Canadian copyright law into step with the US's Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the UN treaty that spawned it.

Re: "good women members like Liberals Maria Minna and Sarmite Bulte in Toronto"

It shouldn't surprise me that reporter Sheila Copps is going to show bias towards Sam Bulte, her past Parliamentary Secretary when Ms. Copps was Minister of Heritage.

As a Canadian creator trying to protect my ability to make a living at my craft from their extremist views on copyright, I've had the misfortune of having run-ins with both of these people. The fact that they were women didn't seem to matter as far as their being extremely closed minded, believing they had all the answers, and their abrupt shutting down of any conversation that disagreed with their own ideologically based views.